"Lance had nothing to do with it," Arnold said. "Quite simply, we have been dialing back our sports sponsorships across the board. It's really that simple."

Chipotle sponsored both the UCI Continental program as well as Slipstream's junior development team.

The junior team roster featured 19 riders from across the US who competed in mostly domestic races. The Under-23 Continental team, which raced as Chipotle-First Solar, boasted 15 riders in 2012, basing itself in France this season and racing a mostly European calendar.

Chipotle's involvement with Slipstream dates back to 2008 when the Mexican restaurant chain signed on a title sponsor of the fledgling ProTour team. Garmin signed on as title sponsor of the team about halfway thorough the 2008 season. In 2010 Transitions Optical took over as the presenting sponsor.

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